US forecasters: Drought will linger, conditions ripe for hurricanes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal weather forecasters say the country can expect more of the same weather for this fall, especially for drought-struck Texas and Oklahoma. And they urge coastal regions to be ready for a hurricane.

The three-month weather prediction sees no relief from the record Southwest drought. It also predicts warmer than normal weather for a wide swath of the country from Maine to Arizona. Only the Southeast, Northwest and California will likely be spared. That's because forecasters a La Nina system to keep rain away.

Climate Prediction Center operations chief Ed O'Lenic also says a high pressure system that has kept tropical storms away from the East has moved, making a U.S. hurricane strike more possible. The last hurricane to strike the U.S. was in 2008.